Baby Madonna touches down for life in the global electronic village

The adoption saga will be played out on TV and in the glossy celebrity magazines

LONDON - Surrounded by photographers and accompanied by a bodyguard and personal stylist, Madonna's adopted son arrived in London yesterday to begin a new life in the international spotlight.

David Banda was taken to the singer's £1.3 million ($3.67 million) home near Marble Arch after arriving on Tuesday from Johannesburg, with paparazzi and satellite vans following his every move.

A woman believed to be Shavawn Gordon, Madonna's personal stylist quickly covered his head with a coat to shield him from cameras.

And the media brouhaha over the adoption of the 13-month-old from Malawi by one of the world's most recognisable stars showed no signs of dying down.

The two local authorities in which Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie have homes - Wiltshire and Westminster - have indicated unofficially that they have not been approached by the couple to be approved as adopters.

Under British law, prospective parents must be approved in Britain before they can adopt from abroad, although couples can use private agencies as well as local authorities for the process.

A local authority must be informed with 14 days of an adoptive child arriving from overseas, with penalties including a jail sentence if the law is broken.

There is speculation that Madonna may decide to process the adoption in her native America, where the system is faster.

David was issued with a US visa before leaving Malawi.

The singer herself is said to have been hurt by the criticisms hurled at her by groups in Malawi and Britain.

She brushed off accusations she had cut legal corners.

"We have gone about the adoption procedure according to the law like anyone else who adopts a child.

"Reports to the contrary are totally inaccurate," the singer, 48, said in an open letter released by her publicist.

"After learning that there were over one million orphans in Malawi, it was my wish to open up our home and help one child escape an extreme life of hardship, poverty and in many cases death, as well as expand our family."

Madonna is hoping to make David a brother to her 10-year-old daughter Lourdes, and 6-year-old son Rocco.

The saga is already being played out in glossy pages of celebrity magazines, with Hello! claiming the first victory with "emotional" pictures of Madonna's trip to Malawi last week, although they do not apparently include images of David.

The magazine also includes claims from showbusiness writer J. Randy Taraborrelli that the singer phoned her parents in the United States to tell them: "It's so worth it. He's just the best baby ever.

"Guy and I have never been happier."

There is now bound to be a media scrum for the first official pictures of the David with his new parents.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt commanded more than £4 million for the first pictures of their baby, with the couple donating the fee to charity.

David seemed unfazed by the glare of flashbulbs but it remains to be seen whether he can cope with the dual pressures of adoption and fame as he grows up, as well as the ethnic differences with his new family.

Adoption experts warned that he could struggle to adjust in his new home.

Jonathan Pearce, director of Adoption UK, said: "Not only are you removing the child from the family, you are taking them out of their racial and ethnic heritage, which is even more difficult for a child to deal with.

"The child doesn't recognise faces anymore.

"You can only imagine what that is like for the child."

Anna Feuchtwang, from the charity EveryChild, said: "Inter-country adoption is fine as a last resort when all other options have been explored.

"But you have to take the best interests of the child into account first.

"Most evidence shows that children are better off in their own families and communities."

The publicist Max Clifford said Madonna and her husband now needed to win over sceptics about the reasons for their adoption of David.

"A lot of people have doubts and suspicions - they've got to prove those doubters wrong."

Meanwhile pressure groups in Malawi continue to threaten legal action to block the interim adoption order, which they say was fast-tracked. The groups also say a ban on overseas adoptions bypassed. The Malawian Government, however, has insisted that rules have been followed.

David was "picked" by Madonna after she was emailed pictures of 13 boys in a Malawian orphanage.

The singer travelled to Africa last week to meet David but left without him at the weekend because of passport wrangles surrounding the boy.

The baby was rushed past scores of waiting photographers into the couple's three-storey house. After spending a few hours with her son, Madonna left for a trip to the gym.

The Malawian courts will now spend 18 months assessing whether the couple should be granted a full adoption order for David.

- INDEPENDENT